First log, Will follow with weekly updates

stickman · Apr 2, 2017

Blitz527 said:
Thank you for the advise on that as I am building 2 raised beds this year. I'll give that a try. I am thinking of just throwing a 1x10 box on the ground. The ground here is pretty hard. But ibread if you fill the raised beds with a good soil mix, plant in it and go along with regular garden needs, the roots will eventually penetrate the harder soils and clays.

Unless you're planning on giving away most of your plants, you might want to re-think that 1x10 foot raised bed Alex... I plant my Chinense varieties in a 4x10 foot raised bed, and they're happiest with 10 plants in that space... up to 12 in a pinch, but no more than that. You want to leave some room for your plants to grow out as well as up while still leaving room for good air circulation around the base of the plants and making it easier to harvest the pods without snapping branches.

Blitz527 · Apr 2, 2017

stickman said:
Unless you're planning on giving away most of your plants, you might want to re-think that 1x10 foot raised bed Alex... I plant my Chinense varieties in a 4x10 foot raised bed, and they're happiest with 10 plants in that space... up to 12 in a pinch, but no more than that. You want to leave some room for your plants to grow out as well as up while still leaving room for good air circulation around the base of the plants and making it easier to harvest the pods without snapping branches.

I should have clarified, the Lumber will be 2X10, I didnt mean to say 1x10 LOL the beds will be 8X8 framed with 2X10 boards. I figure in a 8X8 bed I can fit 12-16 plants. Plus my regular garden I will have 15 in. I am trying to get rid of some but I think people around here are afraid of the heat HAHAHAHA so 1X10 was a typo LOL

stickman · Apr 2, 2017

Blitz527 said:
I should have clarified, the Lumber will be 2X10, I didnt mean to say 1x10 LOL the beds will be 8X8 framed with 2X10 boards. I figure in a 8X8 bed I can fit 12-16 plants. Plus my regular garden I will have 15 in. I am trying to get rid of some but I think people around here are afraid of the heat HAHAHAHA so 1X10 was a typo LOL

Ah... that makes more sense!

Still... 8x8 is still a bit large. You'd have to walk inside the enclosure to tend and harvest and that would compact the soil in the middle of the bed. Roto-tilling helps for a short time, but it leads to worse compaction in the long run. You might be better served by raised beds 4 feet wide by however long, since you could reach into the middle from the outside without standing inside the raised bed.

Blitz527 · Apr 2, 2017

stickman said:
Ah... that makes more sense! Still... 8x8 is still a bit large. You'd have to walk inside the enclosure to tend and harvest and that would compact the soil in the middle of the bed. Roto-tilling helps for a short time, but it leads to worse compaction in the long run. You might be better served by raised beds 4 feet wide by however long, since you could reach into the middle from the outside without standing inside the raised bed.

That is a great piece of advice, I didn't even think of the likelihood that I will have to walk inside the garden. So I will opt for 4ft by 10 ft beds. Thank you for that. And that is one of the reasons I am glad I got into this community.

+1000 Thanks bud

stickman · Apr 2, 2017

G.A... Drive on! :thumbsup:

Blitz527 · Apr 7, 2017

Well folks, Plant out is coming soon... but not soon enough. I am thinking on topping all but 2 of each of my plants. At this point i would only top them. I know this will promote bushing out, but with what i have seen lately in growth, i do not think i will run into too much of an issue. Any input?? They are getting quite tall in my opinion, and Id like to kind of "stunt" their vertical growth. So thoughts on topping????

p.s. the ones not topped will be split, one in ground and one in container, as I am still experimenting a lot with what I have access to and see what results I can get.

stickman · Apr 8, 2017

Blitz527 said:
Well folks, Plant out is coming soon... but not soon enough. I am thinking on topping all but 2 of each of my plants. At this point i would only top them. I know this will promote bushing out, but with what i have seen lately in growth, i do not think i will run into too much of an issue. Any input?? They are getting quite tall in my opinion, and Id like to kind of "stunt" their vertical growth. So thoughts on topping????

p.s. the ones not topped will be split, one in ground and one in container, as I am still experimenting a lot with what I have access to and see what results I can get.

It's true, topping and cropping leaves will force axillary growth, but at a cost. The plants won't get as tall as quickly as the ones left to grow at their own pace. With roughly 6 weeks 'til you put your plants outside to harden off you might be pushing up against the boundary a bit. I'm not sure how much a heavy feeding schedule would make up for that, but pushing the growth too quickly has costs of its own... the growth is less hardy and more susceptible to the whims of the weather. Read wind squalls, freezes, etc.

Blitz527 · Apr 8, 2017

stickman said:
It's true, topping and cropping leaves will force axillary growth, but at a cost. The plants won't get as tall as quickly as the ones left to grow at their own pace. With roughly 6 weeks 'til you put your plants outside to harden off you might be pushing up against the boundary a bit. I'm not sure how much a heavy feeding schedule would make up for that, but pushing the growth too quickly has costs of its own... the growth is less hardy and more susceptible to the whims of the weather. Read wind squalls, freezes, etc.

So do you think I would be better off topping after a week or so after plant out? or just letting nature take its coarse? I dont want to have tall plants as we do have a lot of wind around here, I do have a fan in the grow enclosure to simulate wind but I cant simulate the strength of the wind we have here at times. my worry is that after a couple weeks outdoors, and what I saw last year in my very short grow, that they will get quite tall, I dont want them to bend or break. Any suggestions are very welcome. this is my first year beginning this early. Just as a note, Would I be better off topping earlier next year? My ultimate goal is to have plants about 3-3 1/2 feet tall by 2 1/2 to 3 feet wide.

stickman · Apr 9, 2017

Blitz527 said:
So do you think I would be better off topping after a week or so after plant out? or just letting nature take its coarse? I dont want to have tall plants as we do have a lot of wind around here, I do have a fan in the grow enclosure to simulate wind but I cant simulate the strength of the wind we have here at times. my worry is that after a couple weeks outdoors, and what I saw last year in my very short grow, that they will get quite tall, I dont want them to bend or break. Any suggestions are very welcome. this is my first year beginning this early. Just as a note, Would I be better off topping earlier next year? My ultimate goal is to have plants about 3-3 1/2 feet tall by 2 1/2 to 3 feet wide.

This is the first time I'm topping and cropping myself Alex, so I really don't know what to tell you except that I'd vote on the conservative side and leave most of the plants alone this close to plant-out. If you have one or two extra plants to experiment on, that would answer your questions without risking your harvest this season. As for plants growing too tall in a windy area... I just tie mine up to 4-foot tobacco stakes that I set next to the plants while they're still pretty small. That way I don't interfere with their roots. Cheers!

Blitz527 · Apr 9, 2017

I have quite a few extras this year LOL I am trying to off load a few as I dont have room for a lot of them. I never expected to have the germination rate that I did. Funny enough, I have a better germ rate with the seeds I harvested myself than the ones I bought from PepperJoes. Same starting method and all. I ended up with something like 8 habs from 10 seeds, 18 or 19 Scorpions from 25 seeds, 18 reapers from 25 seeds, 28 ghosts from 30 seeds, I have 2 lemon drop from 4 seeds (thanks devv :hi:

) and a few other varieties that arent in my main set-up. I also expected everything to take longer to germ, not 5 to 7 days LOL. But I will try staking the taller ones, I am planning on putting all the ghosts, reapers and scorpions in separate beds and will only have room for 10-12 of each. I think I will wait as you suggest, and after a few weeks in their new shoes (outside in the ground or final "pot/bucket") I may top a couple in each bed. I wanna fing out what works best for around here, Topped, Pruned, Both or all natural LOL. Thanks for the continued advise and support. :thumbsup:

Now this may seem like a STUPID question. But Ill ask anyways even though I think i already know the answer and see whats going on.... but here goes:
Is the time in which it takes the soil to dry a representation of the plant size and root structure? i.e. Larger plant+healthy roots=Heavy feeding/quicker absorption of moisture?? I am seeing in my solo cups that even though the plants are relatively the same size, the larger leafed and somewhat taller plants dry out a little faster than the smaller ones. may be a dumb question but I enjoy reading what other people have seen and think as well.

stickman · Apr 9, 2017

The more surface area on the leaves exposed to the elements the quicker the transpiration.

Blitz527 · Apr 9, 2017

stickman said:
The more surface area on the leaves exposed to the elements the quicker the transpiration.

So due to the larger surface area of the leaves that are exposed to the light and fan, the faster the soil dries? That makes sense. so in theory, if i were to take off the lower larger leaves (which i am not going to do) They would feed slower? I am sure there are many variables i.e. ambient temp, soil saturation and drainage etc.

stickman · Apr 9, 2017

True... Which is why evergreens have very small leaves (and a thick, waxy cuticle) and broad-leaved trees drop their leaves in the autumn... To conserve water. There's lots of water in snow and ice, but the plants can't use it in that form.

Blitz527 · Apr 9, 2017

Sweet. Thanks. :thumbsup:

PaulG · Apr 9, 2017

+1 Dr. Rick! Good advice, bro!

mlittle74 · Apr 10, 2017

Everything is looking really good and I'm impressed with your setup. You're going to have ALOT of peppers!

Mike

Blitz527 · Apr 12, 2017

Well folks, I have neglected to share some pictures with you for a little while now. So here we go. I am not taking measurements any longer with the pruning experiment as much as I am just watching. Let me know what you think so far. if there is anything youd like me to explain or picture for you Id be happy to.
Currently in the main set up I have 28 Ghosts, 19 TM Scorpions, 18 Carolina Reapers, 8 Habs, 1 Aji Lemon Drops, 2 Peter Peppers, and a few I dont know what they are because i took cut a couple plants from cups that were doubled and I failed to label them when I rooted them HAHAHAHA

Aji Lemon Drop

Peter Pepper

Habs

Singled out shots

Y in reaper

Overall

BARK FORMING!!!!!!

Devv · Apr 12, 2017

Looking good Alex!
Dang you have a ton of plants! Here I've had the Chinense get to 4-5' high, and they were planted 3' apart, so they over lapped.

You WILL learn a lot this season

Blitz527 · Apr 13, 2017

Thank you Scott, I am hoping so. What fun would all of this be if we didn't learn something HAHAHAHAHAHA. hoping to get some of the raised beds put together this weekend.

Blitz527 · Apr 14, 2017

Just want to update my grow list: If you could help me sort them into their "species" because I want to start seeing what belongs where and for what reasons:
28 Ghost (Bhut Jolokia)
19 Trinidad Moruga Scorpions
18 Carolina Reaper
4 Hungarian Hot Wax
4 Chocolate Habs
1 Pumpkin Hab
8 Orange Habs
1 Devils Tongue
1 Bishop Crown
1 7 Pot Brain (red)
3 Peter Peppers
1 Aji Lemon Drop
1 Billy Goat
2 Yellow Manzano
3 Big Bertha Bell
1-3 Chocolate Moruga (hopefully as they have not popped yet)

Next seeds to start:
Bolivian Rainbow
Peach Ghost
CGN 21500
Venezuelan Tiger
7 pot gigantic SB Chocolate

(some seeds from: Mlittle, WickedMike and PepperNovice THANK YOU)

So in conclusion, This will bring this years grow to 21 Peppers and a few other veggies, (the wife needs tomatoes and cucumbers, might throw in some ground cherries and such too.)

Basil and Lemon Thyme so far for herbs.